S-Boats

[PhilipWebb059]

Greetings All;
An interesting thing happened on the way to attack a convoy, after many hours of getting in position for the perfect attack with the Mk 10 fish. I ordered the boat to periscope depth (P key) and started getting ready to serve fish to a fat tanker. All of a sudden the boat gets slammed by shells from everything that could carry a pop gun in the convoy plus the three escorts. I check the boat out and I see that the boat never dived to the right depth I hit the D key and nothing. I tried the C key and only then did the boat start its dive. But in the mean time I had damage that would take to long to fix and the ocean was pouring in and I don't believe the S-boat is rated for a 1000 foot test depth. She just didn't want to dive - correctly.
Is there a fix for this problem?

My SH4 is version 1.4 (I may be getting 1.5 sooner or later)

Thanks

[WernherVonTrapp]

Greetings and welcome.

First off, you might want to upgrade to version 1.5 sooner than later. Though I've never used version 1.4 myself, it is my understanding (from reading various posts) that it's a bit buggy. When you pressed the "P" key, what depth did your sub dive to /or/ did it dive at all? Are you sure that you didn't hit the wrong key like I have done on occasion?

In any event, version 1.5 would be a good place to start for a fix.

[Armistead]

I play 1.5 now, but use to play 1.4 and I never saw this issue, nor do I think it's a bug in 1.4. Overall 1.4 isn't any more bugged than 1.5, just what we call realistic fixes done by mods. I can't remember stock, but I assume the D key is active. Even in heavy seas I don't recall any boat that breached the surface enough to be seen at scope depth. One thing possible if seas were rough is that they saw your scope, started shooting at that and hit other parts of your boat that breached through the waves, if the water was calm, not sure.

Did you notice if you took any damage to your dive planes?

[PhilipWebb059]

Hello;
Thank you for all your responses. I shall take them in order then--

Originally Posted by WernherVonTrapp

First off, you might want to upgrade to version 1.5 sooner than later. Though I've never used version 1.4 myself, it is my understanding (from reading various posts) that it's a bit buggy. When you pressed the "P" key, what depth did your sub dive to /or/ did it dive at all? Are you sure that you didn't hit the wrong key like I have done on occasion?

In any event, version 1.5 would be a good place to start for a fix.

If memory serves me (with ginko biloba) I am sure I hit the correct P key then the D key and lastly the C key to crash into the murky depths. Yes I do believe I will be getting the ver 1.5 for this game. I know I hit the right keys on my new geezer keyboard (large letters on yellow keys).

Originally Posted by Armistead

I play 1.5 now, but use to play 1.4 and I never saw this issue, nor do I think it's a bug in 1.4. Overall 1.4 isn't any more bugged than 1.5, just what we call realistic fixes done by mods. I can't remember stock, but I assume the D key is active. Even in heavy seas I don't recall any boat that breached the surface enough to be seen at scope depth. One thing possible if seas were rough is that they saw your scope, started shooting at that and hit other parts of your boat that breached through the waves, if the water was calm, not sure.

Did you notice if you took any damage to your dive planes?

The sea wasn't really rough, 5 meter per second with good visibility.
No damage to dive planes. I couldn't see the boat as I have everything on realistic settings. Again I am sure I'll be getting the ver 1.5 patch. I usually just shadow a convoy in heavy seas until the weather clears to attack.

Originally Posted by Char

How Long Between Ordering Periscope Depth and getting shells?

S-boats are Old and slow,they take a bit of time to get down,and even using the the Dive order,they take awhile to respond.

1.4 and 1.5 don't Matter,They're just as slow in 1.5,if my memory is correct.

About three to five minutes, I was plotting and setting torpedoes after ordering the dive.

Originally Posted by Daniel Prates

That is very right. Could be a whole minute, maybe minutes. I think that maybe you took too long to dive and got spoted. Guns can be primed to fire within seconds. Also, when you are close to the surface, you are still a bit visible and eligible to be fired upon.

Yes sir, indeed I did. The boat didn't dive until I hit the C key and even then it was not a quick dive. No doubt the holes in the bulkheads did help though.

Again- Thank you for the responses

[Char]

3 to 5 minutes,yep that's about how long it take the S-boat to get it's Nose down,and then about 1 or 2 more to fully Submerge.

S-Boats are very fun to drive.I find myself playing in them the more than the others.
They are Slow,Old,Fragile,and Dive slower than Molassas in January!

The MK 10s aren't the best Torpedos to use when attacking Convoys either.They are pretty slow.Have a VERY visable Wake.And Their maximum range leaves you very close to possible escorts.

Plus the Test Depth is pretty Shallow,And the Crush Depth...
Well Lets just say I Don't go below 275 feet unless ABSOLUTLY NESSISARY,because you are getting VERY VERY close to Crush Depth (for me it Varies from 280-350 Feet)

[Stormende]

As someone said before, it takes a lil bit longer than any other boat to dive this baby, you can hurry things up by calling for battle stations, keep in mind that if your crew is tired they will perform poorly (that's why you should call for battle stations).

What I have noticed tho is that sometimes if you press the P key once, the command won't be acknowledged nor complied. I thought my wireless keyboard was faulty so I attached a wired one and the result was the same, now I press several times the P key until I hear the order being carried out.

There is another thing that I have noticed with this boat, the first time it dives takes longer than the others, I have no clue why but sometimes it happens, so it will be a good practice to dive just at the beginning of the mission so you won't have this problem later.

[TorpX]

The very long dive times are not normal for S-boats.

I did have that problem playing v1.5 w/ RFB awhile ago. It took about 5 to 6 min. to make a normal dive to p/s depth. Needless to say, I was not happy with this. Crash dives were better, but still over a minute. Finally, I reloaded another copy of RFB and re-installed it. The problem vanished. I can make a normal dive in 35 sec. or so.

My only concern about the S-boats is that they do turn slowly in this game. They were better in SHCE. I have to wonder about this.

[Char]

Originally Posted by PhilipWebb059

I ordered the boat to periscope depth (P key) and started getting ready to serve fish to a fat tanker. All of a sudden the boat gets slammed by shells from everything that could carry a pop gun in the convoy plus the three escorts.

How Long Between Ordering Periscope Depth and getting shells?

S-boats are Old and slow,they take a bit of time to get down,and even using the the Dive order,they take awhile to respond.

1.4 and 1.5 don't Matter,They're just as slow in 1.5,if my memory is correct.

[Daniel Prates]

Originally Posted by Char

S-boats are Old and slow,they take a bit of time to get down,and even using the the Dive order,they take awhile to respond.

That is very right. Could be a whole minute, maybe minutes. I think that maybe you took too long to dive and got spoted. Guns can be primed to fire within seconds. Also, when you are close to the surface, you are still a bit visible and eligible to be fired upon.